Introducing 2012
by Shattered Darknesss
Summary: What if the Years and Months were people as well?   Well the months get to take care of 2012, Deireadh, the newest year and this all is easier said then done.
1. The Start of the New Year

0.o Wua another fic? When I've been neglecting 100 Pasta surprises? Don't kill me please! I just haven't gotten around to typing up the next 15 chapters. but anyway this is my newest fic! enjoy! ^^

I'd like to thank Coins Compressed for editing it ^^

So yep, hope you guys like it!

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><p>January was running.<p>

She was running through her home, to be precise; she wasn't running from danger, but she was potentially running_ towards _it. A new Year was about to be born, and as always, it would fall upon January to be the guide for this young Year, guiding it through their first thirty-one days in the human realms. By now, after being the guide to hundreds of young Years, January had grown accustomed to her role.

The House of Years, January's place of permanent primary residence, was a grand building. It always had been, and filled with expensive furniture provided by the Nations of Earth and decorated with yellowing calendars from centuries long-since dead. But the house never felt like one of death; it felt like one of _life_, as every Month dwelling inside it promised success and prosperity for the people of the planet below. Though the promise couldn't always be kept, it was constantly attempted.

She had been running through the House since she was a child, so by now, she knew the winding corridors off by heart. She knew every step she would have to take to reach one of her housemate's rooms, and she knew every step she would have to take to reach her own. When she turned into the dormitories and reached the door to her bedroom, she quickly flung it open and disappeared inside.

Though most of the Nations on Earth had already celebrated the New Year, eagerly waiting for January to bring the young Year itself to visit them, there was still one Country that hadn't yet reached January 1st due to its time zone. So it was still December 31st somewhere on Earth- in the country of American Samoa, to be precise, and January had five minutes before she would head back to Earth for the first time since her last departure. 2012 was soon to be born and 2011, or _Lavendel_, as she had named him, was going to die.

She remembered those thirty-one days she spent with 2011; a gorgeous young boy that quickly became a man within his first ten days of life. He smelled like lavender so she named him such, because Germany suggested it and January agreed. January wondered if maybe Lavendel would have wanted to see her again before he died, but she couldn't leave the House without a legitimate reason, and nostalgia was not an accepted reason whatsoever- not anymore.

Removing herself from reminiscing, January paused to look at her clock, brushing back a strand of Galanthus-white hair. _Two minutes left…_

A knock on her door made her jump.

"_Jan!_" a muffled voice shouted through the woodwork, "Come say goodbye!"

January sighed. She had wanted to be left in peace, but her housemates wouldn't let her leave them for her duties without hearing a farewell first. "One minute, May!"

She heard a scoff from the other side of the door, "I'm July, dumb-ass."

January laughed. "Alright; I'm coming…"

She opened the door and saw it was indeed July, his messy blond hair hiding his light brown eyes as they stared down at a watch attached to his wrist. For a Summer Month, July was always strangely serious, regardless of his fondness for brightly-patterned shirts. "One minute and thirty- no, make it twenty-five- seconds left."

"Whatever," January said, fighting back a wave of nausea. As July continued to glare at his watch, January took a moment to look around, eventually asking, "Where's 2010?"

July's head snapped up, "Uh, she's waiting to greet Lavendel."

January sighed. "I always feel so bad for December; he always has to see them die."

July raised his head to stare at her though his glasses, lips pressed tightly together. "You know he doesn't like you saying things like that. He hates it when people pity him." Before January could reply, July looked down at his watch again. "Thirty seconds."

Unmistakable giggling and shhh's could be heard from around the corner on the secondary landing. January and July both rolled their eyes in time to the familiar sounds.

"May? Are you with June and April?"

The three most-mischievous months came tumbling out from their hiding place, still giggling. As sister Months, they all wore bright yellow frocks and tied back their glossy hair with their individual representative flowers; their sunny style simply hid their cheeky demeanours.

May was the first to detach herself from the mess on the ground. "Sorry July; we just wanted to see January off!"

July and January both laughed.

"Is anyone else here?" July asked. "February, maybe?"

Finally, June sat up. "Nope, just us three! February's drunk as usual. I think he's bothering March now; we got bored of February's _blatant_attempts to flirt with us, so we went to find you guys."

June stood up and made a little _aha _sound. "October is scaring November again; she probably still thinks it's Halloween- and I think September and August are waiting with 2010 for Lavendel's arrival."

April sprang up, exclaiming, "Oh! 10 seconds!"

10…

(January's heart skipped a beat-)

9…

8…

7…

(_What's 2012 going to be like?_she thought-)

6…

5…

4…

(And January could feel herself fading from the House of Years, towards Earth's pull, Earth's gravity-)

3…

2…

1.

American Samoa's population, that final Nation to call for the dreaded New Year, yelled the countdown's last number. Their voices, loud and ringing through the air, across the planet, the International Date Line and the oceans connecting every continent, sent January spinning and forced her eyes into closing. She couldn't see, but she could feel herself slipping from her home, flung onto the Earth, contact severed from her fellow Months and their presence.

Her limbs flailed and her legs dangled until she felt something damp and soft beneath her feet- soil of the lawn outside of one of the Nation's houses. Every year, a different Nation welcomed January and the baby Year into their residence first; last time it had been Germany's turn, but when January opened her eyes she saw a completely different building, albeit one she had spent time in before.

_So we start this year in America's house._

She took a moment to contemplate whether or not America would have changed too much in the time they'd spent apart- but when she heard a little kid's laugh, she turned around and abruptly discarded her train of thought.

There was a boy with jet black hair and strikingly bright green eyes watching her intently; he was pale, and the gleaming sunlight against his skin did nothing to alter his complexion. This couldn't be America; America was a cheery blond boy, sun-kissed and overly-energetic.

January frowned at the sight of a small white dragon, the size of a terrier, beating its paper-thin wings whilst circling the child's head. It would occasionally dive and swoop, the acrobatics making the boy laugh. At the realization of who exactly she was facing, January smiled and began to make her way across the grounds, the blades of grass beneath her toes soothing against her sore soles.

"Hello; I believe you are 2012, right?"

The boy nodded, confused as to who he was facing. "Y-yes, I am."

January bent down to his level. It had been a while since she had to deal with children like this. "Well, I'm January; you can call me Jan, okay?"

The boy cocked his head to the side. "Am I really gonna be called 2012? Don't I get a name like you?"

January laughed. She thought of the Earth's languages, and she thought of who 2012 was- he was rumoured to be a child with fantastical strength, the first _real_potentially Earth-destroying Year in centuries. And yet, he was so young, so small- the manifestation of innocent. That wouldn't last long; he would soon grow. The lifecycle of a Year was condensed into twelve months, no more and no less, no matter how much January sometimes wished she could change that.

She couldn't let the child know her thoughts, it would only frighten him. So she smiled and said, "Alright. How about.. Deireadh? Sound good to you?"

The boy smiled back. His dragon swooped and hissed, and 2012- Deireadh- frowned when he remembered its presence; he couldn't have become well acquainted with the animal because he had been alive for less than a minute, but he had already inherited all the knowledge of the Earth's past, his unbridled power hidden behind the wide, child-like curiosity in his eyes.

"Hey, what about my dragon?"

January knew that the dragon, unlike the months, would stay by his side until the day he died, so she thought it would only be proper for Deireadh to choose the name himself. "_You_name it."

Deireadh nodded. "I like Zenif. Because my dragon is a boy, you know."

January's smile returned. "So, 2012, you ready to start your year?"

Deireadh nodded. "Yes, I am! I know what I have to do. It's… it's all I know. I'm a Year, right?"

January stood up and held out her hand. "Come on, Deireadh, I'm going to show you the world you live in. First stop this time 'round is meeting America."


	2. The First 13th

This Chapter is for Friday the 13th ^^

annnnnd Hetalia is coming tomorrow! My randomness aside, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

again thanks so much Coins Compressed! :D

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><p>The night was young as January patrolled the corridors of the building, footsteps light so as not to rouse Deireadh from his slumber. During her month's duration, years were still young, so she spent her time making sure to look after them as they underwent the first cycle of their life.<p>

Her wandering was interrupted by the call of a voice, laced with something like distaste. "_January_."

She froze, casting a glance over her shoulder - though there was nobody else in the corridor, she realized that she recognized the voice. It belonged, much to her horror, to the self-proclaimed residing King of The House of Nightmares.

This house wasn't like The House of Time, nor The House of Years. The House of Nightmares was where all demons resided and for a while, October lived there instead of The House of Years. October always did feel more involved with the darker aspects of existence, walking the boundary between logic and the supernatural - and it didn't surprise January at all that October would find comfort there, because after all its King was much the same as her, by both blood and by interests.

But he was also the reason October moved _back_.

January opened her mouth to speak, to coldly reply to the one thing truly detested by all months: "Hello, 13th."

And 13th, the suspected son of October with a demonic tinge to his appearance, bestowed his presence upon January by materializing from seemingly nowhere, a lopsided smile upon his face. "_Now now_, is that anyway to greet an old friend?"

January scoffed at the mere suggestion. "You are no friend of ours."

The 13th laughed, tilting his head to ask, "Still a little peeved about 2009? It's such a shame that she can't join in the leap year celebrations, isn't it?"

Ignoring his attempt at goading her, January stepped past The 13th without wavering, moving to stand outside the door of the room containing a sleeping Deireadh. "I know what you want, 13th; but you will leave 2012 _alone_, this year is not yours."

The 13th's eyes shone with the challenge. "Not mine, _yet_. You know the rumors, January, and if they are true then I'm sure that April will gladly hand him over."

January glared at him. "You know the rules; you cannot break them."

He sighed. "You're right, I can't."

There was a pause. January didn't believe for one second that 13th would surrender so easily, waiting for his next statement, unwilling to give him the honour of a response.

In the end, her suspicions were confirmed by The 13th smiling, eyes narrowed. "You know, I won two years ago. I fully intend to win again now. After all…"

Hesitating, 13th took a step back, allowing January the chance to don a sneer before concluding, "I've got 3 tries this time and plan on using them all to make him turn."

And with that, he disappeared, as swiftly as he had appeared.

There is nobody, January thought, as detestable as he.

Moving to stand near Deireadh's door, taking guard, she slid to the floor and covered her hands with her eyes. She could hear Deireadh's soft snores and they simply reminded her of the time she'd spent with 2009- with Rin.

Rin was a headstrong girl even when she was little. She never let anyone tell her what to do; she wouldn't even let January name her, opting instead to name herself. January remembered March coming home with an angry aura around him, claiming that the 13th had won Rin over and that she was now on his side.

When July came back he confirmed it, Rin was going to the House of Nightmares.

The 13th managed to turn her with merely his second try. This year, as was the same with 2009, he had three attempts, three days of reign.

At the recollection, January let out a scoff; the 13th thought that the months would just hand over Deireadh if they were unable to handle a sudden surfacing of some kind of dark side to him, which was highly unlikely. January still thought about 2000, sometimes, and she had been thinking about her a lot lately - 2000 was the year that all the electricity was supposed to stop working.

Well, _that_ didn't happen. Even 2000 herself laughed about it, so January, along with almost every other month, thought that this '_end of the world__'_gimmick was a myth this time around.

She laughed to herself; the humans, it's like they seek out the end of the world, it's like they want it to happen. Although one month (even though he won't let anyone know) is afraid of the myth - and that would be November. It's probably because October likes to scare him so much, so there would have been little point in indulging his worries.

While January thought about the other things she would have to do to protect this year, the door opened and January fell on her back. She looked up and saw Deireadh standing above her.

"January, I had a bad dream," he squeaked, still scared.

January smiled and sat up. "Come here."

Taking small, tentative steps out into the corridor, Deireadh looked down on his guardian before sinking down to take his place in her lap.

"Now, tell me what it was about."

Deireadh closed his eyes tight, locked in concentration. "I … don't remember, but it was scary. I do remember a scary voice though."

January sighed. S_o the 13th tried with dreams this time. _"I'm sure it was nothing. Why don't you go back to sleep, okay?"

Deiread shook his head, "I can't! I'm afraid that the voice will come back." With a hopeful expression, he quickly added, "Can … Can we watch a movie together instead?"

His forwardness was amusing; January laughed and seized his arms to raise him.

"I suppose we can, but only for tonight. You got that?"

Deireadh squirmed in her arms, a smile breaking out over his features. "Yeah, okay!"


	3. Goodbye January, Hello  February

This is our last Chapter with January! Up next is Febby ~

haha

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><p>The 31st. January's last day with Deireadh.<p>

The last days were always the most difficult, characterized by a whirl of goodbyes. She hated them. She couldn't think of a month that didn't.

In spite of herself, January chuckled; February was the only one who hated his first day as well because he had to ask the year its name. Though February didn't generally spend as much time on Earth as the rest of his siblings, spending time with his apparent 'best friend' France always made him feel somewhat happier with the situation, social misunderstandings aside.

But now was not the time to be thinking of February's nuances. January shook her head to clear her thoughts, replacing them with a contemplation of;_ at least I get to see how Lavendel has grown up soon. _

Her change of heart was soon replaced with a sigh. She had no idea what she was going to tell Deireadh. He looked about 10 now and out of all the years she had ever mentored, he clung to her the most. She couldn't remember a year that had been so clingy, always asking her to hold her hand or watch a movie, and every time she attempted to bring up the subject of her leaving at the end of the thirty-one days, she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Perhaps foolishly, she kept waiting and putting it off, but now was her last day on Earth for the year and it couldn't be helped. She looked down at Deireadh's sleeping form, his body curled at her side, before she tore her eyes away to glance up at the clock on the west wall.

_Only 30 minutes left before the whole world is in the month February. _

January sighed again, more audibly this time, before deciding perhaps now would be a good time to break her news. The only time she would have. Tentatively reaching over, she shook Deireadh lightly and said, voice soft, "Hey sweetheart, why don't you get up and go to bed?"

After a few moments of wakening, Deireadh yawned and rubbed his eyes. "But _Jan_; I wasn't sleeping! I swear! And I don't know what room to go in anyway; Prussia and Germany didn't tell me where to go."

"Do you want me to get Germany?"

Deireadh nodded and yawned again. "Yes please."

January smiled and ruffled his hair, the thought that _In Germany it__'__s already February _striking her as he offered her a coy smile_._ That thought registered in more than just a mental way - she felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her. Turning to grab her watch from the coffee table, she left Deireadh sitting on the couch, watching the glowing TV through sleepy eyes, to find Germany, who was probably asleep at the moment himself.

His room wasn't difficult to find; the door was cleaner than Prussia's, well-kept, even moreso than the door to the manor's guest bedrooms. Without allowing herself any time for heistation, January walked to Germany's door and slowly prised it open.

"Hey, Germany, where should we put Deireadh tonight?"

When her query was met with silence, she took in her surroundings and frowned when she saw nobody in the room at all. January looked to her watch habitually; _only 20 minutes left…_

"_Aha_!"

The cry hang in the air as a figure emerged from the shadows, hands clamping onto January's shoulders without warning - it naturally scared the crap out of January. She angrily turned around to face whoever it was that had dared leap out at her, and to her further annoyance she noticed it was Prussia. "Did you really have to do that?"

Prussia smirked, "Of course I did. I'm too awesome not to take advantage of such a great opportunity!"

January rolled her eyes, shutting the door to Germany's room behind her. "Whatever, Prussia. Do you know where your brother is?"

"Nope; not at all." There was a moment of silence, and then Prussia glanced at the room containing 2012, dropping his voice down to a whisper. "Did you tell him yet?"

January quickly looked at her watch again, for confirmation. _15 minutes._

"N-No, I don't know how to. I mean, how can I possibly tell Deireadh that today was my last with him? I just can't seem to bring myself to crush his spirits. It's nothing like the other times…"

Prussia sighed. "You'll have to do it soon. It isn't all that nice of you to lead him to think that you'll stay forever."

January glanced at her watch again. _13 minutes._ "Since when are you helpful?"

"I'm always helpful." Prussia scoffed. "And stop looking at that watch every two seconds. It's starting to get really annoying. Look, no matter what time it is, you're still going to leave."

Silence took hold once more; January didn't respond to Prussia and Prussia didn't say anything further. They just stood there staring at each other, until Deireadh came walking up to them with his dragon flying behind him.

"Uh, January?" he said, speech emphasized with a yawn. "I'm getting really tired."

January quickly went over to him, passing Prussia to kneel before the young year in her custody. "Tired, hm? Well, I am too." January looked down at her watch again. _Only 5 minutes? When did that happen? _"Look Deireadh, before you go to sleep there is something very-"

"January!" Germany said, finally appearing from around the corner. "I thought you would've been gone by now."

Deireadh gave January a panicked look. "We're leaving? I thought you said that you were feeling sick, how can we leave if you're sick?"

Irritated by the interruption, January glared at Germany for his mistake. He exchanged a look of confusion with Prussia, met by a grin.

"I, uh…" She took a moment to gather herself and continued, "Listen, Deireadh, I'm leaving very soon." She again looked at her watch. "In fact, I've only got two minutes left before I go back home."

Deireadh's dragon, picking up on his owner's distressed mood, started hissing. Deireadh himself started to tear up. "With _me _right? I've never done anything bad to you that would make you want to leave me, right?"

Reaching out gingerly, January pulled the boy into what she hoped was an embrace of comfort. "No, no, you've been a good boy. It's me, not you; I have no choice in the matter, I have to leave. February is nice; he'll take good care of you. Well, until March comes."

Deireadh shook his head and started to cry. "But you were supposed to stay forever! Just you and me. Meeting this world's countries and watching movies together. It was how I thought it worked."

January wiped a tear from Deireadh's cheek. "Hey, you'll see me again in a year, okay? I'm not going away forever. You will see me again, that's my promise to you."

"But I don't want to wait January! I don't want you to go."

Another check of the watched confirmed a rising fear. _Only 30 seconds…_

"Deireadh, I'm going to leave and when I do someone called February will come to take care of you next. Count your blessings, Deireadh, for you have an extra day on this world." January stood up. "I'm going to go now. I only have around 15 or so seconds left this time 'round. Please be good for February, he's kinda clueless with kids sometimes."

And with that, January started to fade away, her expression one of remorse, or melancholy - Deireadh grabbed for her, but only received thin air for his troubles. His dragon wrapped his tail around Deireadh's neck in an attempt to comfort him.

Both Prussia and Germany knelt down by the small boy, who was now crying harder than before - neither of them really knew how to address the issue, but they didn't think it right to leave him. They stayed by his side, somewhat uncomfortably, until a youthful blond-haired man appeared in the hallway, materializing as quickly as January had disappeared.

"Are you 2012?"

Deireadh nodded slowly.

"Good! Well, my name's February, and I'm going to be taking care of you for 29 days."


	4. Valentine's Day

Its late I know. Please don't eat me. At least its up now. har har.

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><p>"Deireadh, where <em>are <em>you?"

The question manifested in the form of a loud cry, echoing through the house while accompanied by heavy footsteps. Deireadh peered over his shoulder just in time to see his bedroom door fling open. He wasn't sure what hit him first, the sight of France and February laughing obnoxiously, or the wafting scent of alcohol attached to them.

Sighing, Deireadh swung around in his chair to wholly face the unwanted visitors. "Look France, Feb - I don't wish to take part in whatever you're trying to get me to do."

February whined. "But _Deireeee_, France and I just want you to experience everything Valentine's Day has to offer! Only happens once a year, you know."

"And to truly celebrate it," France added with a grin, "you need sex."

Deireadh rolled his eyes, sighing again. Years age drastically and by now his outward appearance had changed to that of a sixteen year old human, with the maturity to match. France's plan didn't sound all that inviting, so he replied, "I'd… rather not. I'd rather just keep to myself, thank you."

Pacing swiftly across the room to wrap an arm around the uneasy year, France chuckled and announced, "I won't have any of that! Come, come; tonight is the night for single gentlemen such as ourselves to get laid and get drunk."

"How the hell did you get there so fast, France?" Deireadh snapped, quickly shoving France's arm away before glaring at him incredulously.

"I have my ways." And with that, France leaned forth to pull Deireadh out of his chair. "Now, don't make us _force _you to attend the festivities with us!"

"Creep," Deireadh said simply, as he stepped away from France and into February. He glanced back to see February's expression for support, but when February just grinned at him, he surrendered. "Fine, fine, fine; I'll go. I just _won__'__t _be having sex, thank you!"

"Calm down, Deire, I won't make you do something you don't want to do!" February promised.

"My name is _Deireadh_, not Deire." He sighed. "But, I guess, thanks."

France clapped his hands together. "Great! Now, _mes chers_, lets go out into town. "

"Do you guys do this to every year?"

Clearly none too interested in the query, February waved his hand. "_Hm_, depends if the year is male or female. Ask Laulu; France tried to get her to sleep with him."

Displaying a grimace, Deireadh cocked his head to the side. "Laulu?"

France laughed, lost in contemplation. "Ah, 2000; she was a pretty one. Her name suited her very well." Before Deireadh could question him, he was already mid-flounce towards the open door, calling, "Let's not reflect upon the past; let's go! The present doesn't last forever!"

And he promptly left the room.

February let out a chortle beneath his breath. "Her dragon, it was a red one. Bit the crap out of him. It was really quite funny."

Almost wistfully, and ignoring his mentor's utterance, Deireadh looked at his open window. The dark night sky greeted him, lit with pin-prick stars, but the air was still and the night was surprisingly quiet. "Hey, speaking of dragons, have you seen Zenif? He hasn't exactly come back yet."

February's laughter continued, long and loud. "You don't need him around for tonight! Knowing that thing, he'll be waiting on your bed - annoyed with France and I again - when you get home."

With that, the month departed from the room, leaving Deireadh little choice but to follow.

"I suppose you're right," Deireadh said with a smirk, following February down the vast corridor beyond the doorway. "Zenif doesn't seem to like you much."

Unimpressed, February rolled his eyes. "_Whatever_. Now where did France run off to? I do hope that you, being the straggler that you are, didn't make me miss out of the fun today. This is what Valentine's Day is _about_!"

"I highly doubt that Valentine's Day is just about sex," Deireadh said, turning the corner to place a first foot on the stairs.

February patted Deireadh's shoulder. "You, my friend, have got a lot to learn."

"No, thank you."

A voice interrupted the proceedings, shouting up from the front door. "February, Deireadh; don't make me leave without you!"

The very cry made Deireadh feel uneasy, wondering whether or not this was such a good idea. His doubts came to life in an exclamation of, "You know, I'd rather not just sit around and watch you two flirt with girls. I'm thinking of staying home."

Outraged by the notion, February grabbed Deireadh's arm. "Oh no, you _have _to come! As your caretaker I can't leave you alone."

"Geez, I'm not tren anymore. I can take care of myself." Deireadh tried to remove his arm from February's hand, but to no avail. "Unhand me!"

"Not until we get outside," February replied. "Then you'll meet some lovely girls and have a blast. Maybe hit a bar or two, who knows!"

"I hope you guys know that I'm under legal drinking age."

Somehow able to hear the unfolding conversation, France called up, "You're with me, so it won't matter!"

Letting out yet another sigh, prompted by such antics, Deireadh shouted back, "_Whatever_. Let's just get this stupid day over with."

Within minutes, Deireadh found himself forcibly led out into the streets of Paris. There were so many _people, _more humans than he had ever seen in one go. People holding hands all around them, shoving things into each other's faces, smiling and laughing and _urgh, _kissing. Deireadh felt as though he was going to be sick.

"Where should we show Deireadh first?" France asked.

February shrugged, attempting to swiftly come up with a suggestion. "Maybe a bar?"

Visibly irritated, France sneered, "Just as long as we don't find England in one of them."

Deireadh poked February's side. "One; let go of my arm. Two; who is England again?"

"England is an irritating, unfashionable moron, that's who he is," France offered with a huff.

Deireadh blinked, confused. England couldn't be that bad, could he? The year just bit his lip and replied, "I'll take your word for it..?"

Leaning closer to block France from hearing, February whispered to Deireadh, "England and France hate each other. I'm sure you'll get England's side of things when you meet him with March."

In response, Deireadh nodded, amused by the prospect. "Alright."

"Hey France, looky-here! A girl who is all alone," February said, returning to the night's main order of business. "Why don't you show little Deireadh how it's done?"

France smiled, courteous. "Gladly." He then winked at Deireadh, who shook his head embarrassedly at his companions.

Unfazed, France walked up to the girl and seized her hand to kiss it, ignoring the slightly stunned reaction. "_Bonjour;_ I'm Francis - and you are?"

Apathetic, Deireadh scoffed. "This is just stupid."

It must have worked, because whatever France said next, it gave him the leeway to start walking away with the girl, swiftly placing an arm around her shoulders. Slightly quick, Deireadh thought, but he wasn't necessarily going to be upset to see the back of the troublesome European.

And then a thought struck.

"Hey! Hey, _France_! Don't leave me alone with February!"

France merely waved his free hand at him, not caring.

"Looks like it's just you and me now," February said with a mischievous grin, while slinging his arm around Deireadh.

"Sounds like so much fun," Deireadh said sarcastically as he detached himself from February's hold.

**X~X~X~X~X**

_February is heavier than he looks, _was Deireadh's first thought as he dropped his mentor onto the couch in France's living room. _Dumbass, getting too drunk to walk, _was his second.

The evening was… eventful, to say the least, and Deireadh's head ached from memories he'd sooner prefer to forget than recall. France was missing, but Deireadh figured that he would probably show up in a few minutes - he may have been confident, but even confident players need their wingmen.

Hesitantly, Deireadh sat himself down next to the now-giggling month.

"Hey Deire! Let's go back out," February said, breathing beer-scented breath against Deireadh's skin.

Deireadh simply pushed him away. "You smell like a damn drunk, and I will not let you out again. Ever." He peeked out around the vicinity. "Also, where the hell is France?"

"Probably getting it on with that girl he disappeared with; he'll be back in the morning. He always is."

"Great." Deireadh got to his feet, pulling February off the couch with him. "Why do I seem like the only mature one here?"


	5. Leap Day

Here is the Leap day chapter ~

Thanks for the reviews you guys!

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><p>When February entered his charge's bedroom, he was met by the sight of Deireadh sleeping calmly, muttering in his sleep as he interacted with a dream about who-knows what. The year tended to be incredibly tetchy during the day, but he found some kind of sanctity at night, contained within the peaceful landscape of his imagination.<p>

Taking care to keep his steps quiet, February made his way towards the bed and whispered into Deireadh's ear, "You might want to get up."

With sleep-heavy limbs, Deireadh reached out and struck February's cheek gently, still half asleep. A small mumble escaped his lips, "No thanks."

Irritated, February decided to take matters further. In one quick motion he seized the mattress upon which the year lay upon, and lifted it to knock Deireadh to the floor.

"Hey," Deireadh whined, dazed as he looked up from his new spot on the carpet, "I was sleeping! Not cool, Feb."

February sighed with theatrical exasperation, nudging Deireadh softly with his foot. "I don't care. Come on, get up."

Deireadh glared at February while getting to his feet, tugging the mattress up with him to reposition it. He glanced at the clock on the bed side table, adding, "Geez Feb, it's midnight! What on earth is so important?"

There was a small pause in the conversation. The month said eventually, "It's February 29th."

Unimpressed, Deireadh raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Displaying a grand smile, February quickly looked back at Deireadh to say, "It's mine, and your, extra day! I normally only get twenty-eight days."

"I don't see the importance here."

February leaned to pick up the pillow that had fallen from Deireadh's bed, replacing it. "The Houses converge."

"Houses?"

"The House of Years, Time, and Nightmares converge on this day. The last 3 years, 2009, 2010, and 2011, come here with 3 months of their choosing. Although this time you'll only get 2 years and months."

"I don't understand…"

The month sighed, reaching out to grab Deireadh's wrist. "Just come with me and you'll see." And with that, February dragged Deireadh out into the hallway, heading for the stairs.

Too tired to protest, Deireadh allowed his guardian to lead the way, taking weighted steps down to the living room. He let out a grunt of confusion when February stopped in front of the archway that lead into the living room itself, keeping Deireadh by his side.

"You've got to promise me that you won't freak out."

In response, Deireadh merely frowned, snapping back his arm to fling open the living room door. "Why would I-"

He stopped talking as he caught sight of someone very familiar, a smiling figure ingrained in his memory. "J-January?"

February laughed. "Now, aren't you glad I woke you up?"

Before Deireadh could answer, or January reply, a blond man with glasses walked over to them and offered Deireadh a hand. The man was a stranger with a strange air, so Deireadh refused. Seemingly unaware of the rejection, the man stated, "I hope February hasn't been too much trouble. Has he at least taken you to someplace _other _then France?"

"Uh yeah, he took me to meet Spain a little while ago, but he took me back to France within the day."

The man shook his head. "February, I thought we discussed, before you left, that you'd do more than two countries."

February grinned. "July, lighten up; France and Spain are good enough."

July rolled his eyes and turned back to Deireadh. "Well, February's idiocy aside, I'm July. I'll be back after you get the girls."

Deireadh blinked. "Girls?"

July nodded, amused by the query. "April, May, and June; I come after June, of course." With that, July stepped aside so Deireadh could see the others. "You know January, but I suppose I'll have to introduce the others." As if on cue, a small girl with a shy demeanour walked forward from January's side. July nudged a thumb in here direction and said, "That's 2010."

2010 smiled, coyly offering her hand. "Hello Deireadh, my name is Zene."

Ever the gentleman, Deireadh ignored her stranger status to shake her hand, but said nothing. What could he say? He was staring another year right in the face – a year like him. One that had ended and would never take the position again. Was she jealous of him? Piteous? Deireadh could only stay silent.

July smiled at Zene and continued talking. "And that—" a short brown haired male stood up "—is 2011."

Prompted by the introduction, 2011 walked up the group and spoke to Deireadh in a lowered voice. "Come talk to me in private once things have settled down; it's of the utmost importance." In a normal voice he added. "My name is Lavendel, welcome to leap year."

"I don't get it," Deireadh said, confused.

January laughed from where she was sitting and stood up, walking towards the group of people. "Deireadh, I'd honestly have to think that February is teaching you to be stupid." The smile that was on her face faded. "Leap Year happens once every four years. We, the people who live in the house of years, are allowed to come back, but only with on two conditions; one, it's only for 24 hours and two, we have to be accompanied by a year that was born after the last leap year. Normally there are three years and months that come, but it's not the case this time."

Deireadh gave a slight nod of recognition, but January seemed intent on continuing.

"Additionally, the door to the House of Time is opened. The older years leave to go live there. At the present time, we have 1980 and up living with us in the House of Years."

Deireadh tilted his head to the side. "So I'm the leap year?"

July nodded. "Correct."

Zene rolled her eyes. "Let's not get all sad and depressing about it, after all it _is_ our extra day." She turned to July, her eyes sparkling. "You think we can go over to Hungary's house? I've missed her."

"I don't see why not." July turned to January. "I'll be taking Zene now; try not to miss me."

With a wink towards her fellow month, January laughed. "Whatever you say, Julius."

July scoffed, leading Zene towards the still-open door. "I've told you many times to stop calling me that."

Deireadh looked around as July and Zene left. Everyone seemed to be going back to what they were doing before he had arrived, and the sudden shift of activity left him hopelessly confused. "Wait, what's going on?"

Seemingly ready to do something useful, February placed a hand on Deireadh's back, guiding him to the empty seat left behind by Zene. "Some of the years leave to go see old friends amongst the countries, but they come back before they day is up."

"This is France's house, right?" Lavendel asked. "Where is he, exactly? I haven't seen him since arrival."

February sighed. "France is sleeping – can't you hear him snoring upstairs? I don't really care at the moment; he'll be fine!"

The months and years sat in silence, Deireadh still trying to process what had just happened. There was peace, and he spent the spare moments examining his companions, trying to figure out the new.

Deireadh's quiet investigation was interrupted when Dragon Zenif came flying in the room, screeching and holding a mouse in his claws. Lavendel jumped at the sight of Zenif consuming the animal mid-air, flipping onto his back before flying over towards his master.

The Dragon landed on Deireadh's shoulders, wrapping his tail around Deireadh's neck lightly. Deireadh laughed amiably and reached back to pet his creature, smiling when Zenif rubbed his head on Deireadh's hand in response, cooing.

Lavendel eyed the two of them with suspicion. "Is that your pet?"

Deireadh dropped his hand and put it in his lap. "Yeah, why?"

Lavendel got to his feet. "Dragon years; always so stuck up."

"What?"

January leaned over to Deireadh and whispered to him. "He met 2000; she won't let anyone tell her what to do and Lavendel likes to take charge of things. Laulu wouldn't have it. Lavendel and Laulu," January laughed. "You could say they hate each other."

Lavendel rolled his eyes. "January, I'm not an idiot: I can hear every word you are saying."

January smiled and stood up. "Aww Lavy don't be mad." She laughed again. "I'll get us some drinks."

With that she departed, laugher still echoing in a somewhat manical way. Lavendel's eyes watched her as she left and as soon as she was out of sight he grabbed Deireadh's arm and dragged him outside, Zenif hissing all the way.

"Deireadh."

"Yeah?"

Lavendel looked out the door and closed it. "The Months, they live by rules and us, the Years, do not. So it's been implied that I've got to do this myself. "

"Do what?"

Lavendel pulled Deireadh close to him. Deireadh, surprised, tried to get out of the older man's arms.

"Deireadh," he whispered. "Shut. Up. If Jan sees us I've blown it. Why do you think she's acting the way she is? In the opinion of a month, what I'm about to do will give a certain someone a clear path to take you away."

"Wait, what?" Deireadh whispered.

Lavendel sighed and released Deireadh. "You are rumored to destroy this world. So the humans say."

"I'm what?"

The cry resonated. Zenif flew off of Deireadh's shoulders and landed on the railing, being unusually quiet.

"Geez, shut up. Just because the humans say something doesn't mean it's going to happen. It's funny how much they freak out; they made a movie all about it."

Deireadh glared at Lavendel. "And why do they think this?"

"The Mayan calendar only went up to 2012, you, so the humans thought that it meant that 2012 is when the world ends – though honestly, most people don't think it'll happen. The months decided to treat you like any other year, as if the rumors don't exist."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't think it's fair to keep such a big part of your year from you." Lavendel opened the door and motioned for Deireadh to follow. "Don't ask me anymore questions, just enjoy the day. After all, it is leap day."


	6. St Patrick's Day

Here's the next chapter ~

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><p>"What day is it today, Deireadh?" Ireland asked, setting down his tea and oatcakes.<p>

"March 17th," Deireadh replied, devising a way to steal one of the aforementioned oatcakes. He frowned and added, "Speaking of March, where is he?"

"Right behind you, idiot."

Deireadh turned around to face the man approaching him. March was smiling, dressed in all green, and due to his meager height he rather resembled a leprechaun.

Eyeing March suspiciously, Deireadh asked, "Why on earth are you dressed like that?" He glanced at Ireland and noticed that he too had some green on – it was typical, considering Ireland's reputation as the 'Emerald Isle', but it also made Deireadh suspicious that March and the Celtic nation were up to something. "Really Ireland; you too?"

"It's the day of my national saint; I can do as I please." Ireland took a sip of his tea so he could hide a smirk. "I do what I please anyway, but today I have all the more reason to."

Rolling his eyes, Deireadh walked up to the table. "You guys, I honestly don't know wha- ow! Hey!" Deireadh angrily turned around to face March, red in the face as he tried not to laugh. "Why the hell did you just pinch me?"

March broke out into laughter then, Ireland joining in soon after. They chorused together, "You aren't wearing any green."

Irritated and somewhat confused, Deireadh scowled while he rubbed the spot where March had pinched him. "So? That doesn't… that doesn't give you the right to hurt me!"

March calmed down a bit, still wearing a big grin on his face. "Of course it does! It's St. Patrick's Day."

Deireadh glared at March. "And?"

Ireland scoffed from behind them. "If you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day you'll get pinched."

Swiftly Deireadh turned around, swiping one of Ireland's oatcakes before waving it in his face. "Who made up that stupid rule?"

"Us," Ireland said. "Just now, when we realized it would be fun."

Triumphant, Deireadh shoved the oatcake in his mouth and continued to talk, despite his eating. "Well, I have green eyes so I can't get pinched regardless."

March started laughing again as Deireadh finished his stolen oatcake. "What now?"

"Eye color doesn't count, stupid."

Deireadh's glare returned. "I dislike you, I hope you know that. Freakishly short person."

"Now that was uncalled for, you brat!" March yelled.

Grinning, Deireadh bent down unnecessarily low and flicked March in the head. "And so was pinching me!"

As they fought, the door to Ireland's living room was opened by a smiling young Italian. "Ve! Ireland~ I decided to come over to your home today!"

Italy stopped smiling when he ventured further into the room, stalling at the sight that greeted him. Ireland was staring at his plate, lamenting over his lost delicacy, while March and Deireadh fought.

"You guys?" he said, too quietly to be heard.

The younger Italian's brother shoved pasted him. "Hey, everyone; shut up!"

Deireadh and March stopped fighting to see who had just yelled at them, while Ireland still kept staring at his plate. Indignant, March straightened his jacket and shot a glare at Deireadh. "Hello Italy, Romano." He then motioned for Deireadh to step up. "This is Deireadh, or 2012. Deireadh these are the Italy brothers."

Smiling his usual smile, Italy walked forward smiling and shook Deireadh's hand. "It's great to finally meet you!" Italy stepped back. "Wow! You look like a taller vision of March! How weird!"

March visibly wasn't happy about the remark, but ignored it. "Anyway! Veneziano, Romano, what are you two doing here?"

"My idiot brother wanted to go see the other idiot who shares an important day with us," Romano pouted.

March sighed. "Yes, I thought as much." With that, March took his jacket off and threw it at Deireadh. "Wear that, we're going out to eat – and Ireland, stop crying over your lost oatcake. At least be grateful that someone else ate the thing."

"But I like them!" Ireland complained as he finally looked up. "They are way better than anything England can make anyway." Then Ireland looked at Deireadh. "So you like them right? I was trying something new this time."

Deireadh dropped the coat on the ground. "I'll tell you the same thing I told England, they only taste good when I've stolen them from you. Oh, and, March I will not wear that horrendous jacket."

March and Ireland exchanged a look of amusement. "Suit yourself Deireadh, but don't say we didn't warn you."

"But you haven't warned me about anything, March!" Deireadh huffed.

Dismissing the year's comment, March made his way towards Italy and Romano, interrupting their conversation with each other. "Romano, can you please move?"

"You will not be seen anywhere near me with those crazy clothes on. Go put less green on, it's sickening to look at you." Romano crossed his arms.

Italy pushed him playfully. "Fratello, you always say that!"

Glaring at his younger brother, Romano snapped, "It's because I don't like the guy!" He looked back at March. "Go change."

March sneered. "Just because you are taller than me doesn't mean that you countries can always push me around." March grumbled under his breath. "And you wonder why I hang out with Ireland."

Romano sighed. "March, go change right now. Honestly, you look like a damn sparkly leprechaun."

"Hush up; I can do whatever I want." March said as he crossed his arms. "Now move."

"But with you being so short you really _do_ look like a leprechaun."

"I. Am. Going. To. Hurt. You. One. Day," March threatened, hands curling into fists.

"I'd like to see you try."

Ireland stood up and quickly stepped between the month and country. "Come on you guys, can't you fight tomorrow or something?" He sighed. "I don't understand why you hate each other."

Romano scoffed. "It's because he is annoying and stupid."

Even around Ireland, March continued to glare at Romano. "I'm not stupid or annoying. That would be you."

"At least my voice isn't annoying."

Italy poked his brother. "Romano please be nice, let's just go out and have some fun, okay?"

Deireadh, who had been taking the last of Ireland's oatcakes while they fought, finally spoke. "I agree, this is getting tiring."

Ireland glared at Deireadh. "Finally getting bored of nicking my food?"

Deireadh laughed as he ate the last oatcake. "Nope!"

In response, Ireland merely sighed. "Well… whatever." He turned his attention back to March and Romano. "Now, are you feckers going to shut up?"

"Fine" Romano scowled. "But March has to at least get rid of the trousers."

Beaming, Ireland looked to March. "Well?"

"Fine, fine whatever" March grumbled. "I'll go change."

Deireadh laughed from where he was sitting. "Wow, getting pushed around by countries, huh? Seems fun."

March glared at the year as he walked past him. "I don't care what you think."

Unfazed, Deireadh continued laughing. "Good to know."

Italy interjected. "So, are we going?"


	7. April Fool's Day Part 1

Here is the April fool's day chapter ~

I really do love April XD She is the easiest and funniest to write, her and December.

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><p>Trying (and failing) to stifle a laugh, April crept along the tiled floor of the landing corridor, her back arched like a cat waiting to pounce. She kept her target – the year she had been assigned to care for – in her sights, waiting for the right moment to strike.<p>

Her laughter alerted Deireadh and he turned around to face her, wearing an expression of confusion. "Who are you?"

_Curses. _April straightened herself up, placing a hand on her chest in a gesture of self-importance. "Easy, I'm May." She giggled before continuing, "You're Deireadh right?"

"Um. Yeah?"

April merely smiled in response. "You make it sound like a question. Do you not know your own name?"

"I do, I just, _uh_, can't get over your hair and eyes," Deireadh confessed, but he was already beginning to lose interest, lost in his daily chores. Determined to continue on his way, without or without the new month in tow, he resumed walking across the corridor.

Consequently, April had to run to catch up with Deireadh. "Oh, right; I forgot! I have pink hair still, don't I?"

"Yeah – and purple eyes." Deireadh stopped at a door. "It's weird."

Unfazed by the year's surprise, April laughed again. "Well, I can't do anything about the eyes. I can dye my hair again. I was thinking light blue this time. What do you think? I think it's a good choice, but then again I do really love the pink – it matches my eyes pretty well."

Deireadh peered over his shoulder to give the talkative month a glare of confusion, but April merely giggled.

"You should've seen me when I had bright orange hair!"

"You sure talk a lot, don't you?"

Hiccupping the last of her laughter, April reached out with a slender arm to poke Deireadh's side. The action made him jump but April ignored the reaction, answering, "Yup, I think it's good for someone to say what's on their mind. Oh, do you know what day it is today?"

Deireadh rolled his eyes. By now, he was quite sick of his guardians introducing him to odd human holidays that bore little relevance to him. He told April such by stating, "No. And I don't care."

April gaped at Deireadh with shock. "You mean Marchy didn't tell you! He always tells the years!"

"Well March and I didn't really 'get along', so I'm not surprised he didn't tell me."

With that, Deireadh opened the door to the room he'd been intending to enter for the past few minutes, flicking on the light switch as he entered. Curiosity getting the better of her, April followed, just in time to hear Deireadh shouting, "Zenif!"

A miniature dragon popped out from behind the dresser, disturbed from sleep but cheerful about it, and flew over to where April and Deireadh had decided to stand.

April tilted her head at the sight of the creature. She was used to seeing the Chinese Zodiac creatures accompanying years, but dragons were always a treat due to their mythological status.

Smiling, she stuck her hand out towards Zenif. "Aww, he is _so_ cute! Lavendel's rabbit was cute too."

Deireadh didn't seem impressed, asking, "So, what day is it today, May? May 1st, right?"

April laughed. "I'd do something really mean, but I've already done it to a year before. _APRIL FOOLS DAY_!" She laughed. "I'm really April. May is the month after me; Lavendel thought I was May all the way until May came. It was so funny. I honestly love how March forgot to tell him."

"Oh," Deireadh said, still not entirely understanding. "O…kay? So March was supposed to tell me about today?" The conversation was interrupted by Zenif landing on April's shoulders, taking great interest in his new perch. Deireadh nodded with recognition and added, "Hey, he likes you. Hm, you and January are the only ones he's liked so far."

"Yeah, I'm good with animals. But that's not why I'm here – I'm here to tell you we're leaving soon, we get to go see Austria. I just _love_ his music." Seemingly done with her monologue, April started walking away from Deireadh, his dragon still draped over her shoulders. "Well, aren't you coming? You know if we're lucky his younger brother might be there – maybe that might not be a good thing, they always fight. But it's hilarious."

Deireadh caught up to her. "Who's his younger brother?"

April smiled. "Czech, he is super nice. Normally he sees May or September, but sometimes I see Czech. Depends on who's at Austria's house when I go."

"Got it," Deireadh said, but he still shook his head – more out of exasperation from April's hyperactivity than confusion. "Are you going to say hi to England first or what?"

"Sure! Haha, I haven't seen _him_ in a while." April laughed again as Zenif nudged her neck with his scaly snout. "Here, Deireadh, you wait here, okay?"

"Alright. I'll just be getting my things, then."

"I hope you don't mind but I'm taking Zenif with me."

Deireadh waved his hand dismissively, already making his way towards the drawers that Zenif had been napping behind. "Yeah, yeah; whatever."

Sensing the end of the conversation, April skipped out into the hall, delighting in the feel of Zenif's claws digging into his shoulders as he hung on for dear life. She bolted through the landing towards the stairs, ending up at the stairs before flipping onto the banister to slide swiftly down it. Zenif let out noises that sounded like mewls all the while, both entertained and terrified, only calming when April led the way to the kitchen.

"Hello, England?" April called, peeking her head through the doorway.

She was wary for a reason – England liked his kitchen a great deal, so she usually found him there, but the food he made wasn't too good. Zenif seemed to pick up on her suspicions, burying his face in her bright hair to shield himself.

To her surprise, when the country called back, his voice was coming from his study. "What is it?"

Slightly irritated at having to move again, April turned on her heel to run over to the study. When he heard her stomp through the doorway, he turned in his desk chair, an important-looking document in one hand with a pair of reading spectacles in the other.

"How can I help?"

April grinned. "_England_, if you tell me where you keep the paint, I promise I won't do anything bad to you this year."

"Paint?" England asked, frowning. "I don't use paint too often, but I keep some in _that_ closet" – he pointed to the west wall of the room – "for the occasions in which I decorate. But what are you going to do with it, April?"

The grin on April's lips grew. "I have a beautiful white canvas to paint with, don't I?"

It took England a moment to work out who she was referring to, but when he realized, he merely said, "He'll kill you."

April let out a laugh of triumph, placing her thumbs on the dimples of her cheeks. "No he won't; I'm a little defenseless girl."

England sighed, turning back to his papers. "I'm not taking _any_ part in this, I'll have you know."

"Fine by me!" April said, before moving towards the closet. "Zenif, you are going to look _so_ pretty."

**X~X~X~X~X**

Before rooting through the drawers themselves, Deireadh looked behind the dresser that Zenif had been napping behind to see if his dragon had taken anything and hidden it there. He'd learned to take precautions because Zenif was like a magpie, stealing things he liked the look of before getting bored and leaving them forgotten somewhere.

Deireadh sighed. _So that's where my shirt went. _He picked it up by the collar, only to find that it was ripped to shreds. "Great, I'm going to run out of them if he keeps taking and destroying my shirts… Now where are Zenif and April?"

As if on cue Zenif came flying in the room, April following close behind. They looked like they'd done nothing at all in their absence, and Deireadh wouldn't have been bothered by their disappearance… except for the fact Zenif was now painted bright yellow, and had dark blue stripes along his back.

Deireadh's teeth ground together. "What. Did. You. Do?"

April pouted. "I made him look pretty didn't I?

"Why would you _paint_ my dragon?" Deireadh cried, outraged. "Wait, better question; why did Zenif _let_ you paint him?"

Huffing, April replied, "I painted him because white is such a boring color and he let me because he likes me."

"You better clean him up before we go."

April just returned to her default beam. "I want Hungary to see my art work before it goes away."

"_Really_?" Deireadh sighed. "Just make sure you get him cleaned up. I'd rather not have a blue and yellow dragon, thank you."

"I think Zenif likes it." Her near-permanent smile became inexplicably radiant as the dragon landed on her shoulder. "Right Zeni?"

Zenif shook himself and rubbed his head on April's cheek, leaving a streak of paint.

"See, he wants it off," Deireadh pointed out.

"Nope! He was just itchy." April raised her arms to pluck Zenif from her shoulder, holding him in front of her. "Now want am I going to do with you? I guess I'll just have to repaint your face now, huh?"

Zenif flapped his wings and April let him go. Overjoyed with his newfound freedom, he flew over to Deireadh and landed by his feet, rubbing the paint on to Deireadh's jeans.

"What did I say?" Deireadh asked, crinkling his noise, before he bent down and gingerly picked up Zenif. "I'm going to clean him off _before_ we leave for Hungary's house."

April pouted again. "You are _no fun_. Lavendel let me spray paint his rabbit black; I don't see why I can't paint your dragon."

Deireadh shook his head. "For some reason, I doubt that he let you do something like that."

"Fine clean up your dragon, but I'd watch out; I will get you back!" April called, before departing.

With an eyebrow raised, Deireadh looked down at the colorful Zenif. "I believe she is a little crazy in the head. What do you think about it?"

Zenif just flicked his tail in response and rested his head on Deireadh's arm, decidedly returning to his previous sleepy state.

"Alright, now let's get you washed off."


	8. April Fool's Day Part 2

Okay so I really wanted to have this XD  
>My mind wouldn't let me not do it :3<p>

so enjoy :D

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><p>March stepped in to his room very carefully; last year when he returned from Earth, he was drenched in melted chocolate upon opening the ingress. This meant he intended to be extremely careful this year.<p>

He let out a sigh when his eyes were greeted with the familiar sight of his bedroom, the furniture exactly as he'd left it, his flowers still somehow alive in their vase. The only thing that was out of place – out of place enough to make him frown deeply – was a girl with long, red hair, sitting on his bed, her head turned to stare out of the window.

Recognizing the guest immediately, March sighed. "October, why are you here? I would like to _sleep_, thank you."

The month in question slowly turned her gaze to March. "If you do that, you know something will happen to you. Something _bad._ Or have you forgotten already?"

Instead of replying immediately, March crossed the room to take a seat next to October. "No, I haven't, I'm just really tired."

Expressionless, October shook her head. "2012 can't be _that_ bad."

Ignoring his unwanted visitor, March fell back to stretch out across his mattress, staring at the ceiling. He let out another sigh before replying, "He's just annoying."

October bit her lip, finally displaying a gleam in her eyes – one of disbelief. "Just because he _looks_ like you doesn't mean he's automatically annoying."

Startled, March sat up again. "How did you know he looked like me?"

October sighed. "The first thing out of February's mouth when he came back was

_Deireadh looks like a taller March, it's so funny_."

March's teeth ground together of their own accord. "Idiot. I'm going to hurt him."

"I wouldn't do that today," October stated, tilting her head in a gesture of warning.

March raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because he and I are planning one big prank this year for one of the months. I was thinking July, but February wants it to be with December."

Resisting a smile, March asked, "What did July do to get on your bad side?"

Turning away to resume staring through the window pane, October narrowed her eyes. "He took all of the horrifying masks I had so that I couldn't scare the crap out of Novi today!"

"Novi?"

October cursed under her breath. "Stupid June is getting to me."

"I think the day that _really_ happens will truly be the end of the world." October stared at March, not at all amused by his remark, and he quickly backtracked with, "Alright, I get it; it's not funny."

Content, October nodded. It took a few moments of uncomfortable silence for her to speak again.

"So anyway. Who do you think we should get this year?"

March furthered the silence for a good some seconds, then answered. "I think December. He's such a loner it'd probably do him good."

"Yeah. That's what February said too." Letting out a noise of mild exasperation, October got to her feet, with clearly no intention of continuing the conversation. "I'll go 'round everyone up. Don't fall asleep, or I'll send September up to get you down stairs."

"I get it, I get it," March muttered as October moved to depart.

He waited for her to leave before making his way towards his dresser, exchanging his current red shirt for a black copy instead. He hadn't had much time to change his clothes on Earth, too concerned with following 2012 around to ensure the year didn't run into irreparable trouble.

After exiting the room himself, March found himself almost walking right into September as she clambered the steps. He reached out to steady her and greeted her with, "Sorry about that!"

September laughed. "It's fine! Oct thought you were taking to long so I was sent to get you."

"It's only been _five minutes_ since she left!"

Now grinning, September merely ruffled his hair, eliciting a growl of good-natured irritation from him. "She wanted to make sure you hadn't fallen asleep."

"I wish I was able to," he grumbled as he turned to the stairs, September following close behind him.

She reached out to seize his elbow and announced, "You're walking too slow! By the time we get to the site of the _awesome prank,_ December will realize what's going on!"

Shaking his arm to remove September's grip, March insisted, "I _like_ walking slow."

Rolling her eyes, September shoved March from her path to jump down the remaining steps, tapping her foot as she waited for March to walk down them. "You've no choice, considering how short you are…"

Reaching the bottom step himself, March sniffed, "I-I enjoy being short."

A chirpy voice filled the air as something gripped March's shoulders, pulling him backwards swiftly before he could even react. "That's such a _lie,_ Marchy~!"

"Get off of me February!"

"Oh, _come on_ March; you said it, not me!"

As February undraped himself from March's body, March pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whatever. Where are the rest of the months?"

Clapping his hands, February smiled. "In here."

He led September and March to the living room, opening the door to reveal, sure enough, the remaining months sprawled over the assembled couches. September stole the lead to bound through in her usual hyperactive manner, and at the sound of new footsteps, May looked up from where she was talking with June to greet the new arrivals.

"Hey March! You _need_ to hear this!"

Baffled, March shrugged and walked over to where May and June were sitting, leaning down to ask, "Yeah?"

June grinned, almost intimidating. "July hasn't been seen all morning."

"So?"

"How are you not getting this?" May cried, shooting March a glare of disbelief. "It _means_ that he's probably with _Zene_ again."

Unimpressed, March replied, "I don't see why you guys need to get in the business of every month."

Waving her hand to indicate dismissal, June scoffed. "We do it because it's the only thing of interest to do until we go back to earth to meet the New Year. That and listening to music."

May laughed. "Aww, June, don't get offended – it's not March's fault he's stupid."

"_Really_ you two?" March sighed to signal the end of his involvement with the discussion, turning around. Before he could make a dramatic entrance, he bumped into November. "Sorry! I keep doing this today…"

"N-no its fine. I'm just trying to stay away from October."

"What did she do this time?"

Emanating anxiety, November bit his lip. "Nothing, that's the problem. She's normally done _something_ to scare me by now."

"Then loosen up and count yourself lucky she hasn't done anything."

November laughed, his tone still shaky with nerves. "But that's what she _wants_ me to do."

March sighed. "_Christ,_ Nov, she isn't trying to scare you twenty-four-seven. Loosen up!"

"It's hard when October always tries to scare me!" November complained.

"I don't _try, _I _do_," came a whispering voice, October herself appearing to snake an arm around November's.

"Don't do that!" was November's reply, his entire body jerking with fright as he leapt away from the Halloween month.

As if butter wouldn't melt, October smiled. "Do what~?"

Visibly shaking, November narrowed his eyes and tried to glare at October through his glasses. "D-don't creepily whisper in my ear!"

Standing firm as always, October returned the glare, displaying her teeth in a predatory grin. "And what are you going to do about it?"

November looked away. "N-nothing. B-but it's the _principal_!"

Without a care as to who was listening, May whispered to June, "I swear it's like they're a married couple or something."

October appeared again behind May's chair, whispering, "_What did you just say_?"

"N-nothing!" May squealed.

October glared at her. "Good."

"Hey, come on, fighting isn't going to get you guys anywhere." July said, as he finally entered the room.

October removed her glare from May to turn it on the sudden comer. "And what if I _like_ fighting?"

"Then I think you can leave," July said briskly. "I'm really not in the mood for your antics at the moment."

"Then give back my masks!" October replied, angry.

"I will later." Before October could protest, July turned to look around at the other eight months in the room. "So where's December?"

October rolled her eyes. "It'd be kind of hard to plan a prank on him if he was here, don't you think?"

"I suppose." July pushed his glasses back up. "But if the prank is too bad I won't be letting you guys do it. We don't want to _hurt_ him, that would be irresponsible."

Tired of watching the scene unfolding without offering any input of his own, February spoke up. "Of course we don't. Not too badly, at least."

January took on an expression of outrage. "We won't be _physically_ hurting anyone!"

February laughed. "Anyone got any ideas?"

"I've got one," someone said from the corner of the room.

Everyone turned to the source of the voice, and to mass surprise it was August, the one month that could probably beat December in a _how long can you stay quiet and unnoticed _contest.

February bounced in his seat eagerly. "Tell us Auggy! Tell, tell!"

"Firstly, never call me 'Auggy' again. Second, why don't we just, y'know… hide all of his clothes while he's taking a shower?"

"That is like, _soooo_ boring August!" September whined.

Feeling rejected, August huffed. "I don't see anyone else coming up with a better idea."

True to form, October shot up her hand excitedly. "Oh! Oh! I have an idea!"

July sighed, weary of what she would say. "Go on."

"Remember how he was terrified of that one movie called 'The Ring' that we watched?" October stated.

"I don't think any of us can forget that!" July said, reminiscing. "I don't think he's ever showed that much emotion in one year!"

"So what about it?" May interjected.

"We should all dress up like we were killed by that girl," October said calmly, "and hide in places that he normally goes." She took a pause for effect before deadpanning, "It'd be funny."

"And it would work!" September said.

A new voice filled the air. "I don't think it'd work."

The room fell silent, everyone turning to the fresh source.

It was May that broke the hush, stumbling to her feet and scratching her arm in a gesture of nervousness. "Um. Hi, December."

"This is awkward." June added, amused.

"Why do you guys insist on playing childish pranks?" December snapped, crossing his arms.

September pouted. "It's not like you didn't do it too, at one point!"

"That was long time ago. I'm older now and don't think its good to do such a thing to each other."

"A lot of us are the same age as you!" September complained.

"Yeah!" March added, indignant. "The only ones that are younger are July and August, so just because you say you're older doesn't mean anything."

"And just because you're still a little peeved that you're not the leading month anymore means nothing either then," October laughed, thrilled at March's display.

"Hey, that's not true," March said, as he waved October off. "Anyway, I'm going upstairs." He pointed looked at October. "If _anyone_ comes up to my room, I will _not_ be happy. Deireadh is a pain and I would like some well-earned sleep."

February laughed. "Alright, have fun!"

March shot February a look. "You are part of the 'anyone,' you know."

Biting back a giggle, February winked. "I wouldn't do anything to upset you!"

January jabbed him in the side. "Be nice and let him sleep."

"You didn't have to hit me so hard." February pouted, face twisting with annoyance.

"I barely touched you!" she sighed. "I'm not fighting with you right now. In fact I really like March's idea of a nap. So I'll be going too."

October waited until both January and March had left, an idea bubbling in her mind visible in her eyes.

"Alright, men. And women. Forget December, we're getting _them_."


	9. Easter

This is the Easter chappy!

Now I know you guys will love this chapter and the next Friday the 13th chapter.

Thanks for all of those reviews and favorites. They make me so happy when I see them in my (over crowded) email. X'D

so anyway, enjoy! ~

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><p>The day was a clear one.<p>

The skies were blue, with very little cloud cover, and the sun shone bright enough to light every inch of the towns below. With a book in hand, Deireadh made his way outside into Hungary's garden, eager to bask in the sunlight and enjoy the good weather.

Recently, he'd been more and more interested in reading, finding some human literature to be entertaining, and his newest book was no exception. He lost himself in the novel, mouthing the words on the page as he went along, and continued to do so for quite some time, before he detected the presence of someone perching on the bench next to him.

Looking up from his book, Deireadh saw a flash of bright blue hair, and soon his eyes met purple ones. The girl that had been seated beside him now stood, grinning down at him.

He sighed before asking, "April, what did you do to your hair?"

April merely smiled. "I dyed it blue! Isn't it great? I thought it was time for a change, y'see!"

Deireadh closed his book, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get back to it with April standing over him. "Do you even _know_ what you real hair color is?"

In response, April could only pout. "It was the most boring color this world has ever seen! I hated it."

Deireadh sighed. "What was it?"

"It was black! Like _yours_. And March's. I hated it! It didn't suit me at all! So I bleached it and started dyeing it new colors."

Feeling the familiar tug of annoyance in the pit of his stomach, Deireadh raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me that my hair is horrible?"

Unable to detect the year's irritation, April gave a curt nod. "The worst! That being said... it's better than brown or white, I suppose. But gray, now _that_ one takes the number one spot for worst color ever! I wouldn't even watch movies until they added color."

"Sounds like a problem," Deireadh said sarcastically.

Believing Deireadh to be in agreement with her, April's enthusiasm for the topic doubled. "Can you imagine how boring it was? You could never tell what color anything happened to be!"

"Such a shame," Deireadh drawled, getting to his feet, desperate to end the conversation as soon as possible. "Why exactly did you come to bother me?"

April rolled her eyes. "I'm not bothering you, I came to tell you that today is the most colorful day of my month! It's Easter Sunday!"

Deireadh furrowed his eyebrows. "Aren't you guys supposed to be non-religious?"

"Technically," April replied, almost hesitant. "But I really only like this day for the bright and fun colors! And plus, ducks are _everywhere_ if you know where to look."

Deireadh, now fully confused, ran a hand through his hair. "Ducks?"

Gleeful, April laughed an obnoxiously loud laugh. "You didn't know? I just love ducks!" She laughed again, contributing to Deireadh's growing headache. "They're so... so... fuzzy and cute and yellow!"

"I hope you know they aren't yellow when they grow up."

"Oh I know that! I'm only talking about the babies." April grinned and grabbed Deireadh's arm. "Here, come on inside!"

"What? Why? It's nice outside!" Deireadh protested, but it was to no avail. April was determined, and surprisingly strong, able to tug Deireadh across the lawn even though he indignantly shoved his heels into the soil to slow down his unwanted journey.

"You can go back outside later," April scoffed, as the pair approached the door. "I want you to see this!"

"What did you do _now_?" Deireadh asked, part-curious and part-worried.

April continued to laugh and it was starting to worry Deireadh even further. "Just go in. You'll see."

With that, she released his arm and motioned towards the slightly opened door.

"Okay...?"

Cautiously, Deireadh pushed open the ingress, peering around the door's slab before walking through the doorway itself. Before he could quite work out what was going on, something struck the entirety of his body, coating him in an odd sort of warmth – some kind of substance covered his clothes, sticky and sweet-smelling.

In his panic, he threw out his arms to defend himself, even though it would be no use. As his palms were equally coated, he saw – to his horror – feathers sticking to the drenched fabric of his clothing, which was probably the work of the blowing fan in front of him.

He angrily turned to April, blowing a feather away from his nose. "Really? Was the absolutely necessary?

April had fallen to the ground in a fit of laughter, and was furiously gesturing towards Zenif, poking his head out from under Deireadh's bed.

"That's what you get for not letting me paint him! I told you I'd get you back!" April continued to laugh. "I just love how easy you are to get!"

"It's not even April Fools' day anymore!" Deireadh yelled, outraged.

Almost instantly April stopped laughing, her eyes snapping open. "Of course it is! Every day is a day to prank someone who wouldn't let me paint his dragon!"

Deireadh sniffed. "That only applies to _me_."

April stood up. "Correct!" Suddenly distracted, she turned to step inside the house and shout somewhere into the hallways, "Hey Hungary! I got him!"

The Magyar nation herself appeared from behind the corner, holding a tray containing Hungarian biscuits. She smiled almost too good-naturedly and said, "I could tell, what with you laughing and him yelling."

Scowling darkly, Deireadh picked a feather from his elbow. "This wasn't funny, you know."

"I thought it was," Hungary said, her smile becoming a beam.

"Am I allowed to go get cleaned off?" Deireadh asked, aware he wouldn't win this particular argument.

"Certainly, but when you're done you should clean up my floor too." Then Hungary turned on her heel to return to her kitchen.

Deireadh closed his eyes. "_You_ will be cleaning up the floor, April."

Grinning, she waggled a finger. "Oh no, that'd be you. I need to go make some boringly white eggs colorful!" She waved at him as she started running to follow in Hungary's previous direction. "See ya!"

"_Really_?" Deireadh called after her.

He sighed and remembered that he still had his book in his hand. Feeling sick to his stomach, he looked down to see it covered in feathers and the syrupy gloop he had been bombarded with only moments prior.

"Excellent," he said to himself, grimacing. "Now I have to buy a new one."


	10. The Second 13th

Haha 10 days late! new record! But yeah it was snowing this morning... Yeah its April, why is it snowing? This year's weather has mangaged to amaze me yet again.

Anyway, I do hope you like this chapter ~

And thanks for the reviews, favorites, ect. They make me happy. haha

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><p>As the young year lost himself in thought, the weight of Zenif's body in Deireadh's lap provided little comfort. Cross-legged in the center of his bedroom floor, Deireadh stroked his dragon's limp wings absent-mindedly, eyes set to the door before him.<p>

Today, Deireadh was on edge.

He wasn't entirely sure why he felt so uneasy. It might have been because Zenif was too, and Deireadh strongly picked up on Zenif's emotions a great deal of the time. It might have been because they were now in Romania's house, and Romania was hardly an _ordinary_ nation, to say the least. Most likely, it was because April had decided to lock Deireadh and Zenif in their shared room for the day, refusing to let them out for anything.

Though he didn't approve of being trapped in his room for so long, Deireadh was happy that Zenif hadn't abandoned him. It made the loneliness bearable, even if Zenif _had _decided to inconveniently sleep the hours away.

"I don't get why everyone is acting so weird today…" Deireadh admitted in a whisper, though he was aware Zenif couldn't hear him, lost in his dreams.

He wouldn't be lost for long, as a new voice in Deireadh's room made him jump, waking Zenif up immediately.

"I don't know why either, kid."

Before Deireadh could react to the sound with a sense of awareness, Zenif started to growl, long and low, at the new presence in the room. To calm his pet, Deireadh placed a hand on the dragon and swiftly peered over his shoulder, desperate and shuddering to see who had entered the room without him knowing.

The room's study-chair had previously been empty, but now it was occupied. An all-too unfamiliar man with shaggy brown hair and bright red eyes, grinning, returned Zenif's intent glare.

"If I were you, kid, I'd learn how to control that thing of yours before it turns on you." The man stood up and leaned down toward Deireadh. "I really can't believe you're the one who'll destroy this world."

This man's gaze was making Deireadh's stomach flip. "I-I'm not going to hurt anyone."

The man let out a snort, one of derision and scoffing. "Not yet anyway. You'll need help."

Zenif continued his growling, the volume of his angry noises rising steadily. Grinning once more in response, the stranger lithely bounced to his knees and lowered his head to stare at Zenif's pointed face, quite ignoring Deireadh.

When Zenif snapped his jaws, the intruder merely laughed, looking up at Deireadh to say, "I knew, the second I _saw_ a white dragon, that it'd be trouble."

"Uh, what do you mean by trouble?" Deireadh nervously asked.

The man let out a wheezy laugh, closer to a snicker. "I mean that your 'Zenif' was supposed to be black. This is the year of the Water Dragon, not the year of the Metal Dragon. Not that it means much to you, I suppose."

Showing meekness for the first time that encounter, Zenif let out one final hiss before burying his snout in the crook of Deireadh's knee.

"Why does that make him supposed to be black?" Deireadh asked quietly. It was a trivial detail, but he couldn't imagine Zenif any other way.

The query went ignored. With a sudden display of force, the stranger reached forward and seized Zenif by the wing, holding the dragon up as he himself leapt to his feet. Zenif had taken on the characteristics of a ragdoll, tail twitching with the rest of his body still, floppy.

"Hey! Let him go!" Deireadh demanded, outraged. "You're going to hurt him!"

The man continued to ignore Deireadh, but released his grip on Zenif. With frantic wings, the dragon took flight to avoid contact with the ground, swooping towards the bed to hide.

"Your dragon isn't yours. It belongs to Mercedonius – or is, at least, a direct child of the dragon that the former month had."

Deireadh felt useless with all the questions swimming around his head, but he couldn't help asking, "Former month?"

The man sighed and rolled his eyes. "You'll find out about him later."

"Later, later, always later… Why not now?"

The man smirked, and his condescending approach was beginning to make Deireadh feel irritated. "Because it's dear May's task to inform you. Besides, I'm only here to tell how to get the months to stop telling you what to do."

Deireadh's eyes widened. "Why would I want to do something like that?"

"Well…" the visitor began, shoving his hands into his pockets as he locked eyes with Deireadh. "You _are_ annoyed by them, aren't you?"

"I-" Deireadh started – before the door was flung open.

April and Romania burst through the doorway with determination that Deireadh had never seen in either of them. Granted, he had not spent much time in Romania's presence, but April was surely _not_ the serious type whatsoever.

When April noticed the man with Deireadh, she paused mid-step, and then everything seemed to freeze still as April's mouth fell open in horror, a hand flying to her lips. Her face was locked in a silent scream of undecipherable emotions; she seemed like she would never recover – before she seemed to notice the red eyes under that shaggy brown hair.

Romania was the first to speak. "I knew it," he said, triumphant. "I knew it!"

"_You_," April said, to the man at Deireadh's side, and for the first time since Deireadh had met her, she sounded genuinely angry. "How _dare _you – I can't believe you anymore, I… You will leave. _Now._"

The man laughed. "Dear, lovely April. I was only trying to tell him the truth."

Unconvinced, April glared. "I said I wanted you gone."

The man spread his arms out innocently. "I was only trying to help, April."

April's voice shook has she spoke. "I don't want to see you ever looking like that again." She point out the door. "Leave."

The man gave a slight shrug of acceptance, but it was far from surrender. He turned his attention to Deireadh, stating with an unwavering tone, "Think about what I said. "He winked pointedly at April. "And don't forget to ask about that month."

Silence overshadowed the room as the intruder departed, bumping past Romania before striding out into the corridor. As Deireadh watched with interest, he saw that the stranger either walked away swiftly or vanished entirely; Deireadh couldn't be sure and he didn't trust his eyes.

"W-Who is he?" Deireadh asked, after a good few uncomfortable seconds passed.

Romania looked at the door. "We can't tell you that now."

A sound like a sob, perhaps of relief or perhaps of misery, escaped April's lips. It removed Deireadh from his musings, and he looked to his caretaker to see her legs shaking with terror.

"Romania," she said in a breathy voice. "Did you get a look at him…?"

Deireadh was puzzled. "See who? That guy?"

Ignoring Deireadh, Romania sighed. "I assume that's what he looked like?"

April could only nod, sliding to kneel with a hand over her eyes.

"Who are we talking about?" Deireadh asked, still confused. His voice was stronger now, and he stumbled to his feet, intent on receiving an answer.

Her hand still over her face, April replied, "Mercedonius… A former month that died."

Romania looked at Deireadh. "He died when Cesar changed the calendar up, getting rid of Mercedonius and adding July and August." Romania looked back at April. "She and him were together, as I heard; I wasn't around when all of this happened so I wouldn't know."

Again April spoke, her voice shaking. "I-I know 13th came looking like that just to get to me… It isn't fair…"

"I'm sorry…" Deireadh said, suddenly aware of the person's identity. The 'stranger' may have taken on the shape of someone else, but he was still Friday 13th. "Will you be alright?"

She looked up, a smile planted on her lips. One that both the year and country knew was fake. "I'll be fine, I promise. It just dug up some old memories… I'll be fine."

Sensing a change in atmosphere, Zenif finally came out of his hiding place and flew over to April, curling up in her lap. April laughed. "See? I knew he liked me, Deireadh; that's why he let me paint him."

"We're not going into _that_ again," Deireadh sighed.

In an attempt to be supportive, Romania offered his hand to April. "C'mon, you were just about to finish cooking something…?"

April bounced up, forgetting that Zenif was sitting in her lap. "Oh gosh the cookies!"

Deireadh raised a hand. "Am I allowed to leave?"

Romania looked at April, who nodded. "Yeah you can…" she smiled again. "You're just going to have to help clean up!"

"Fine." Deireadh said, and he stood to follow the nation and month outside.


	11. May 1st

heh this chapter is all OCs xD Woo!

So this month I'll be very late with updates because I have testing (and my birthday).

I have to study for that AP world test on the 17th too. yay. (not really and 'yay' kind of thing)

OH! and look at my profile for a link to my DA, 'cause I drew some of the months a put them up :D

So yeah, I hope you guys like this chapter. .3.

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><p>Deireadh knew that he really should be used to his guardians by now. He should expect them to be irresponsible, or terrible at keeping him informed on their latest plans. But not ever had he thought he'd be taken to a country's house without a month telling him the name of the actual country.<p>

And so, as May pushed him through the door to a rather sizeable house, Deireadh thought to himself that he should have been prepared.

(It wasn't like he had no warning that May would be trouble. Within just one hour after meeting her, May had Deireadh out of Austria's house and into a new country's. She said it was important that they left early, without so much as wishing Austria farewell.)

"May, I'm capable of walking on my own," Deireadh complained, dragging his feet to slow himself.

May scoffed from behind him. "Then _move_!" She pushed past him upon entry to the hall. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Deireadh asked. He was starting to feel extremely tired of not knowing what was going on, constantly left in the dark to his companion's plans – whoever that companion may be.

Muttering something underneath her breath, May shook her head and walked into the kitchen, still looking for whichever country it was she'd decided to lumber Deireadh with. Deireadh could only follow behind her, taking in the very _white_ color scheme of the house.

"I still would love to know where I am," he hinted, as May dragged him through to the pantry.

May stopped dead in her tracks to stare at something, and Deireadh stopped talking, peering over May's shoulder to see what she'd decided to look towards. It was a man, with shaggy brown hair, rummaging through a buzzing freezer.

"Found him," May announced, to herself more than Deireadh. She finally turned to the year and said, "We're at Slovakia's home."

Upon hearing his name, the country stood up and looked behind him, a spoon in his mouth. He chuckled before removing the item, uttering cheerily, "May! How are you?"

May continued grinning. "Just fine." She motioned towards Deireadh. "This is 2012, the new year. Deireadh, or whatever."

Suddenly energetic, Slovakia closed the door to the freezer with his elbow. He held up a carton of ice cream in toast to his new guests.

"Hello," he said, as a grin, much like May's, spread across his face. "I'm Slovakia."

Deireadh sighed. "So I've been told."

May let out a little giggle. "Come on Deireadh, I'll show you where you'll sleep."

At that, Deireadh sighed. He was still getting used to this lifestyle of moving from one place to another. "Alright, whatever."

In total silence, May lead Deireadh up a set of stairs just outside of the kitchen. Slovakia followed behind them, just as quiet, even though he'd decided to tuck into the carton of ice cream.

When the trio reached a green door, ajar slightly, May stopped and turned to those trailing her to say, "Zenif should be in there already."

Without waiting to be prompted, Deireadh pushed open the door – and found himself in another plain room, drab-white in furniture and decoration, like the corridor he had just left.

"It's so…" Deireadh struggled to find the word. "_Boring_."

May sighed. "I'm sorry. Would you have preferred me to make it all pink and lacey?"

Slovakia interjected. "Hey! I'm not into having something like that in my home. Don't give him an option that I don't like."

"I don't want something like that either," Deireadh said swiftly, raising a hand to draw attention to himself.

May positively glared. "Then stop complaining."

"_Fine_," Deireadh huffed, more from fear than from surrender.

Slovakia yawned, and all eyes quickly turned to him. He grinned sheepishly and said, "I'm glad to have met you and all, but it's late here. I'll talk to you more in the morning."

With that, Slovakia started to walk back to the corridor, but was stopped by May grasping his arm.

"You can't go to bed now!"

Unfazed, Slovakia handed her his empty ice cream container and the spoon he was using. "Of course I can; I'm extremely tired."

"Then why were you _eating_?" she asked, while holding the empty container up to Slovakia's eye level.

The country shrugged. "Because I couldn't sleep. I think I just might be able to now that I've had something to fill me up."

"You are _so_ lazy," May complained.

As if sharing a private joke, Slovakia winked at Deireadh. "Well, I do try."

Enraged by the action, Deireadh spoke up. "He's lying. He's not tired one bit!"

Slovakia shot a look at the year. "Thanks for the support."

Deireadh shrugged. "Not my fault. Unlike you, I'm actually tired; she woke me up while I was sleeping. So if you don't mind, I think I'll take my well-deserved rest."

He shooed the pair away from him and shut the door behind them, leaving them dazed on the landing outside.

May waited a few seconds before turning to Slovakia again. "I'm sorry about him. But y'see, February told me he gets real cranky if someone wakes him up before he wants to be up, so I had to see for myself."

Slovakia could only smile. "I get it."

May tilted her head to the side. "So you really aren't tired, then?"

"I am; I've just been… having trouble sleeping." He gestured towards the ice cream container. "I thought something along the lines of food would help. Honestly."

Understanding, May nodded. "I'll throw this away."

Slovakia smiled. "Thanks."


	12. May's Last

Hey guys, so someone asked when my birthday was and its May 29th, I'm now 16 }:D

anyway, I got a job that has me live at a summer camp for 9 weeks. (it starts June 9th) So I may or may not find enough time to write. I'll see what happens when I get there.

So this is May's last chapter and such. I hope you guys like it and have a wonderful summer! :D

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><p>After a moment or two of hesitation outside the door to Deireadh's bedroom, Slovakia turned the handle to walk inside. The day had so far been a quiet one without the year's presence, because May had little else to do without having Deireadh to torture, and Slovakia was bored of the constant silence.<p>

The year was stretched out across his bed, reading something of apparent interest. After making his presence known with a swift cough, Slovakia crossed the room, seating himself by Deireadh.

"What are you doing?"

Looking up from his book, Deireadh replied coolly, "Well, I _was_ reading, before you interrupted me."

Unwilling to start a fight, Slovakia ignored the annoyance in Deireadh's tone. "What book?"

Deireadh snorted. "Nothing you'd be interested in."

"Try me."

Before responding, Deireadh took a moment to sigh. "I'm reading _The Ring of Solomon_, if you must know."

"Is it good?" Slovakia asked, shuffling closer to peer down at Deireadh's novel.

"It's not as good as the original books; it's a prequel to _The Bartimaues Trilogy_." Deireadh paused, thinking. "Why do you care?"

Slovakia shrugged. "I figured, you must be doing something interesting, to not hear me call for dinner." He smirked. "Food is very important, but if you don't want it-"

"I want it," Deireadh said. He hurriedly placed a scrap of paper in the book to mark his page, setting it down on the bedside table.

With a smile, Slovakia got to his feet. "It's potato pancakes."

"Really? I thought we were doing dinner," Deireadh whined, standing up all the same.

Irritated, Slovakia huffed. "This is my house so I can make what I like."

Before Deireadh could respond, no doubt with some sort of thinly-veiled insult, they both heard a door open and shut. May's voice echoed from downstairs, "Someone's here!", and Slovakia exchanged a look with Slovakia before the pair of them raced into the corridor to check for the new guest.

"It's almost like she thinks I'm stupid," Slovakia mumbled as he moved with Deireadh. "I can hear the _door_ by myself, at least."

Deireadh grimaced in reaction. "Welcome to my world; every single Month treats me like I'm still a kid."

"It's what comes with being newer," Slovakia explained, turning to begin descending the stairs. "Even though I'm older _than_ some of the countries I still get treated like I'm _younger_. It gets annoying."

They both walked in silence the rest of the way, Slovakia taking the lead as they came up to the kitchen.

"Who's here?" he asked, once he'd spotted May sitting at the table.

"Oh, just a friend of mine," May laughed. "He'll be in here shortly!"

Slovakia narrowed his eyes. "If it's who I think it is then I'm blaming you."

Mock-innocent, May smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Deireadh shook his head. "I don't think I want to know." He looked around, to the plates on the table, and added, "Are we going to eat?"

"As soon as _I_ fix something."

At the sound of a new voice, Deireadh turned to the doorway. Walking through it was a man with short dark brown hair and an antennae-like thing sticking out of the top of his head, fixing his jacket sleeves absent mindedly. "Honestly Slovakia, I thought I taught you how to cook."

Rather than expressing hospitality, Slovakia glared at the new arrival. "Why are you here, Czech?"

The Czech Republic laughed. "I was bored and wanted something to do!" He turned and looked at Deireadh. "I'm assuming you're 2012?"

Deireadh narrowed his eyes and informed Czech of his name.

Taking a seat next to May, Slovakia said, "I still don't know why you insist on annoying me by coming here."

Czech merely chuckled. "Aren't we supposed to be friends? I thought that meant I could come over if I had nothing else going on."

Slovakia glared at the table. "Yeah, not when you take my things."

"You kept getting drunk and hitting me with them. I believe I'm justified."

Undeterred, Slovakia continued glaring daggers into the table. "Whatever."

Gleefully pulling out the chair next to Slovakia, Deireadh announced, "I didn't know you drank!"

Czech sat down on the other side of May. "I do as well, but not as much as he does."

Recalling his previous awful encounters with borderline-alcoholics, Deireadh swallowed. "Please tell me you're not as bad as France."

May, Czech, and Slovakia all scoffed at the same time, but Slovakia answered, "I'm nowhere near as bad as him."

"Nor am I," Czech chimed in.

"I'm going to go get the food," May declared, "seeing as how you guys forgot about it." While standing, she winked at Czech and Slovakia. "Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

Czech puffed out his cheeks. "I'll try not to; it all depends on what happens."

May cursed under her breath and moved to the oven, but ran into yet another person, emerging from the kitchen doorway as Czech had done before them. Deireadh tilted his head to the side; unlike the others, he felt like he had seen this person before.

"America? Why are you here?" May asked, her tone laced with annoyance.

The American representation smiled, holding out a bag for May to take. "I thought you'd want some hamburgers! Seeing as how it's national hamburger month in my country."

Groaning, Slovakia let his head fall to the table. "Kill me now…"

Deireadh poked Slovakia's side. "Why?"

"Slovakia isn't into having a lot of people in his house," Czech clarified, wearing a smile wide enough to rival America's.

"I'm sleepy," Slovakia mumbled. "It's too early for all of this."

America laughed. "You mean late!"

"Yeah, okay," May interjected; "America, I'm glad you came, but now you can leave."

"Aww come on May! It's your last day, lighten up."

Frowning, Deireadh raised a hand. "I have to say that I'm thoroughly confused."

America finally looked at the year. "Oh! Wow you're Deireadh right? You're so not like that kid I met at the beginning of the year! You're totally different."

Deireadh's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, I see now. I met you with January, right?"

Overjoyed, America nodded. "That's me!"

May threw her hands into the air in a bid to attract attention. "Hate to break up the happiness around here, but it's late and I have to go very soon."

"Then you have to eat at least one burger be for you go!" America insisted.

May crossed her arms. "I don't want one. Why do you think I always avoid you when I'm here? You're obnoxious."

"You say that _every_ year," America pouted.

"And this year isn't any different."

"Everyone!" Slovakia hissed, "Just leave!"

Czech sighed. "I haven't done anything Slov, so I don't see why I should leave."

Slovakia turned to glare at Czech. "I just want to sleep or eat, preferably before tomorrow. I don't see how I can get that done with all the people in my home."

May shook her head. "Now you complain?" She sighed before pushing America to the door, hands reaching up to clasp his shoulders. "Why don't you wait and bother July like you always do?"

"How do you know about that?" America asked, confusion evident across his face.

"Easy, He talks about how annoying you always are when he gets home! Now can you go?"

America grinned. "Fine, fine I'll go, but I'm getting you back next year for sure-!"

"Oh joy," May replied instantly, her voice flat. She slammed the door behind America as he disappeared.

Deireadh just shook his head and tried to change the subject. "So May, uh, June is the next month I meet?"

May nodded. "But she doesn't pay attention to the years though, so you'll have to make sure she doesn't leave you somewhere."

Deireadh nodded. "Alright."

Czech stood up. "Well, Deireadh, May, nice seeing you. I suppose I'm going to head home myself."

Slovakia looked delighted at the prospect. "Good riddance!"

May smiled at Czech and waved. "See you next year!"

With that, Czech was gone.

Slovakia yawned and leaned back in his chair. "Now that's over, is my food still there? Or did Czech throw it way?"

Deireadh shrugged his response and May shook her head.

Slovakia sighed again. "Fine, _whatever_."


End file.
